Boomers v Spirit Round 12 Preview

Preview of the Round 12 clash between the Global Metals Bulleen Boomers and the Bendigo Spirit.

The Boomers were able to continue their outstanding season with two wins away from the Veneto Club in Round 11, and now look to add to their 13-1 record with a win over the Bendigo Spirit on Saturday.

This is the second meeting between the two Victorian Clubs in consecutive weeks, as the Boomers travelled to Bendigo on Friday and took out a 90-80 road win. Bulleen also travelled to Traralgon last weekend to take on the Dandenong Rangers, securing the ‘Michele Timms Cup’ with an 83-64 win over their Melbourne rivals.

First year Boomers Rachel Jarry and Jenna O’Hea led the way against the Spirit, in a match up that saw Bulleen trail well into the third quarter. Jarry scored a team high 19 points, while O’Hea fell one rebound short of a triple double with 14 points, nine rebounds and 11 assists.

The huge assist output has O’Hea (5.1 per game) now only 0.1 behind team mate Sharin Milner (5.2 per game) for the league lead in that category.

Spirit leader, WNBA and Opals star Kristi Harrower fell well short of her season scoring average last week, so will be fired up to help prove her team has what it takes to match it with the league’s best. Kelly Wilson was the standout for Bendigo last round hitting five three pointers on the way to 20 points.

In their second outing Liz Cambage top scored for Bulleen with 24 points against an in form Rangers team, despite being limited by foul trouble. Co-Captain Desi Glaubitz capped off a return to her home town with 17 points, including hitting all four of her three point attempts. The Boomers veteran now leads the league in both two and three point field goal accuracy for the season.

The Spirit currently sits fifth on the ladder with a record of 8-5, but know they will need to pick up some upset wins such as this one to secure a finals berth. They will be desperate to knock off the top-of-the-table Boomers, and led by one of the league’s best in Kristi Harrower should not be taken lightly.

Every game is critical for Bulleen to win if they want to hold on to their number one ranking. With quality teams led by the likes of Lauren Jackson and Suzy Batkovic-Brown nipping at their heels, a slip up at home could be very costly.

By Ryan Mobilia

Melissa Sudero Photography

Boomers v Perth Lynx Preview

Looking ahead to Sunday's Round 10 game between the Global Metals Bulleen Boomers and the Perth Lynx.

This is the third meeting between the two sides this season, and the second game on The Veneto Club floor in as many weeks. Having just ticked over the halfway mark of the season the Boomers are well placed at the top of the table, leading the league with a record of 10-1, while the Perth Lynx have struggled to a mirror image 1-10 record on the year.

In what was a great test for the Boomers against a quality opponent in Round 9, the then second placed Townsville Fire came to town and were promptly sent packing with a resounding 88-70 defeat in front of a raucous Bulleen crowd.

The Boomers continued making strides towards the ultimate goal in what was a physical encounter, led on the scoreboard by Liz Cambage with 24 points, nine rebounds and four blocks, and the outstanding contributions of Elyse Penaluna and Sharin Milner.

Boomers forward Hanna Zavecz told Brett Phillips of SEN Radio that despite their lofty position on the ladder, the championship race is still wide open.

“We are all very level headed. We don’t by any mean think we are the best team.” she said.

“At the moment we’ve got a lot of improvement to go until we feel we can be a real contender for the title.”

The signs are definitely not all bad for the young Perth Lynx side, with the appointment of new Head Coach Vlad Alava, the Lynx have put together some promising efforts, falling just short of causing the upset of the season last round.

The Lynx came within three points of knocking off finals contender the Bendigo Spirit last round, falling 61-58, after fighting back to draw level at 58 points apiece with 17 seconds remaining, before having their heart broken by a Spirit three point basket.

Bulleen are looking for a season sweep against the Lynx today, having defeated them in Perth, 103-69 in Round 5, and most recently at home, 92-58 in Round 8. On each occasion the Lynx have been led by the play of Captain Melissa Marsh and American import Takia Starks who, along with Kate Malpass, will be the opposition to watch out for on Sunday.

Once again the home crowd support will be all important, as Hanna Zavecz told SEN this week,

“The crowd support has been great… it just creates a lot of atmosphere that we can draw a lot of energy off of.”

The Veneto Club was rocking last week, so let’s make some noise and cheer on our Boomers to another victory!

By Ryan Mobilia